These exercises will guide your form and improve your game

Do you know how to swing the golf club in a safe manner that is effective? Can you replicate the golf swing you see on The PGA TOUR? If you have taken golf lessons in the past, but you still suffer from poor results on the golf course. Perhaps, you have not developed the body to swing the golf club efficiently and safely for maximum performance.

Consensus among top golf fitness professionals is the same: If you build your body, then you will improve your game. Good muscular strength, stability, and coordination will give you the mobility to swing the golf club in all three planes of motion – sagittal, frontal, and transverse. Golfers often hesitate to lift weights at the gym for fear of bulking up, becoming inflexible, and destroying their golf swing. Let’s dispel this myth with 5 exercises to transform your body and boost your game.

Dumbbell Squat

Motivation: Builds strength in the legs and the golf power source – gluteus maximus. Research suggests that 80% of a golfer’s power is generated in this region of the body. With ground force production, the body can use the ground as leverage to create more swing speed toward maximum capacity.

Perform: Start in a standing position with the two dumbbells at shoulder height. Begin the squat by pushing your hips backward and down. Use your heels to center your weight as you lower your body until the thighs are parallel to the ground. Finally, push through your heels to activate your glutes to return to the start position. For proper posture, contract your abdomen during the exercise to maintain balance and proprioception. Do not allow your knees to pass in front of your toes. Maintain knee and toe alignment.

One-arm Bent Over Row

Motivation: Strengthens the latissimus dorsi and rear deltoids. The connection between the two muscle groups promotes proper posture in the downswing by keeping your shoulder blades pulled in, away from the thoracic spine enabling the powerful back muscles to transition the golfer to the target side during impact.

Perform: Bend at the waist, contract your abdomen to align your back in neutral spine position. From an extended arm position, pull the heavy dumbbell upward like the pulling of the cord on a lawn mower, then downward in a controlled manner. Keep your head position tucked and aligned with your spine to prevent forward head posture. Place one leg on the bench to encourage lower body connection and strength.

Kinesis One Cable Rotations

Motivation: Educates the body to turn around an axis to simulate a compact golf swing that synchronizes the shoulders and arms. Builds width for an optimal biomechanical rotation that is consistent and safe.

Perform: With the Kinesis One you can perform an unlimited variety of functional exercises to improve your golf fitness and overall health performance. With two independent systems for developing resistance in the three dimensions of space, a rotational exercise connects all the kinetic chains of the body for biomechanical development.

Grab the ergonomic handle lightly to the side with both hands at shoulder height. Rotate your upper body toward the Kinesis One anchor point with your feet aligned in the golf setup position facing forward. Simulating a downswing movement, rotate your body in the opposite direction in the kinematic sequence towards the imaginary target: hips, torso, shoulders, and arms. Maintain your posture by contracting your abdomen and extending your arms throughout the rotation until you reach the golf swing finish position.

Single Leg Supine Hip Extension With Wellness Ball

Motivation: Strengthens the glutes and hamstrings for golf swing coordination, power engagement, and posture. The isolation exercise encourages the abdomen muscles and the glutes to activate in unison for power production. Focus on the activation of your glutes before performing any movement to prevent stress on the lower back.

Perform: Sit on the Technogym Wellness Ball and roll forward until your upper back is resting on the physio ball. Plant one leg on the ground and the other extended level with your body. Activate your core by contracting your abdominal muscles. Squeeze your abdominals and glute muscles. Thrust your hips upward as high as you can while maintaining your posture in a controlled manner. Hold the exercise for 10 seconds and then slowly lower your hips down almost touching the ground.

Kinesis One Alternate Arm Cable Chest Press

Motivation: Empowers the chest, shoulders, arms, and erector spinae or mid back. The Kinesis One Full Gravity Technology allows the golfer to activate the kinetic chain by integrating muscular movement in a synchronized manner to balance strength on both sides of the body. The golf swing is an unnatural movement that requires balance and weight shift in a synchronized way called the kinematic sequence.

Perform: Stand in the middle of the Kinesis One facing away from the machine. Select a weight from the two towers that is heavy, but manageable. The intuitively designed handles do not require any prior settings or adjustments. The handle will slide along the cable while adapting to your height. Alternate pushing each arm upward, forward, and downward. Contract your abdomen by pulling your stomach inward. Tuck your chin to avoid forward head position. Slightly bend your knees to alleviate stress on your lower back. Maintain control and posture throughout the movements.

The next time you pay for a golf lesson, read a golf magazine with helpful tips to improve your game, or analyze the best swings in the game, remember to invest in your body first. To generate the speed needed to hit the ball farther and to activate key muscle groups in the golf swing for control, you need to train your nervous system to work in harmony for performance, safety, and longevity in the game of golf. Try these five exercises. Your dream golf game begins with a healthy body.

–Article brought to you by TechnoGym, written by Dr. Steven Lorick